The number of Chinese tourists coming to the Netherlands soared by one-third last year, according to new figures from the national statistics office CBS.

In total, Chinese visitors booked 436,000 nights in Dutch hotels in 2015. In total, tourists spent 37 million nights in the country, a rise of 8% on 2014.

More tourists from Romania and Turkey came to the Netherlands but there was a drop in visitors from Russia and Japan. Germans accounted for the bulk of the overseas visitors, followed by Belgians and Brits.

British tourists in particular like to stay in Amsterdam, while the Germans and Belgians stay at campsites and holiday parks at the coast.

Last year the Netherlands was host to a mass company outing involving 4,500 Chinese workers for a company named Perfect.

The group were ferried around the country in a fleet of 90 buses and stayed in Rotterdam, Delft, Amsterdam and Utrecht. The Dutch tourist board expected the visit to generate up to €8m.